Europe Will Add a Record Number of New Hotel Rooms in 2021
Projections are for more than 100,000 rooms to open this year, with another 100,000 set for 2022
Europe is expected to add a record number of hotel rooms in 2021. According to hospitality industry analysts at STR, more than 50,000 rooms have opened so far this year – surpassing the figure for all of 2020 – and the number is expected to top 100,000 by the end of 2021.
STR attributes the growth to planned openings in 2020 that had to be delayed until this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, according to STR, Europe has seen “limited cancellations of planned projects to date despite the significant disruption in performance.”
The number of room openings in European hotels this year are expected to beat the previous record of 74,852 set in 2019. The forecast for the pace of growth to continue into 2022, with the industry adding another 100,000 rooms next year as well.
“The pandemic led to far more delays than deferred and abandoned projects in Europe,” said Robin Rossmann, STR’s managing director. “Yes, performance has suffered during the pandemic, but many investors are still counting on the resilience of the sector.”
Rossman cautions that “there will be even greater competition for properties that have weathered the pandemic and hope to achieve meaningful levels of recovery over the coming years. These new openings will not be replacement supply as most properties that closed because of the pandemic have reopened.”
